Austrian Journalist Gives His Perspective on America

For Americans,  a trip to the local supermarket is a routine event, not an eye-opening one.

Thomas Frank, a 33-year-old Austrian Transatlantic Media Fellow,  expressed in an interview Monday morning by a UGA journalism class how a trip to a supermarket or differences in American communities highlight key variances between the U.S., and what he is used to in Europe.

Frank was initially shocked that American stores had so many brands for simple items like milk, where in his home country Austria, there are only two.

“For a European, entering an American supermarket is really a big thing” the freelance writer explained. “Oh so you have like 30 different options of granola, oh there are ten different types of milk. I had no idea this could exist.”

Frank also noticed how Americans define themselves by their neighborhood and area that they live in.

Unlike in Europe, where the freelance writer feels communities are more conformist, Frank noticed in the U.S., communities are more greatly divide among lines of race, socioeconomic status, and urban vs.rural.

"Here, it comes down to what is the community you live in. Is it like a college community? Does it have to do with what you earn like blue-collar or white-collar jobs, or race," the media fellow explained.

The Austrian journalist will be in Minneapolis next week to continue his three-month tour of the U.S., and has already visited New York City, Boston, Washington D.C., and Chapel Hill.